Cat and Mouse
by OhMahChildhood
Summary: Mouse finds a transient in one of the upper tunnels, a girl named Cat and is completely smitten with her. But will she choose him in the end?
1. Chapter 1

The rain poured down in sheets, lightning crashing overhead. That's when she spotted it..the mouth of the tunnel not far from where she stood trying to protect herself from the water pounding down around her with a soggy newspaper over her head. She dashed towards the tunnel, slipping and stumbling in the mud. Once she crashed heavily to her knees, the muddy water soaking through her faded blue jeans.

Once inside the tunnel, the girl who looked a lot younger than her nineteen years, shoved her sodden red hair out of her eyes which were the color of new leaves in springtime. "Fucking hell.."she muttered to herself, shaking what water she could from her clothing which stuck, dripping with wet, to her cold skin. She'd lived through worse and she figured she'd live through this too. It was just a matter of trying to stay alive in a world which was so cruel to her and always had been as far as she was concerned. Shaking out her sleeping bag, which was wet through, she laid down, wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered on the cool sand that lined the floor of the tunnel. She watched the rain slowly come to a halt and the moon came out, shining in the darkness like a silvery white orb. Blinking, she tried to stay awake but her fragile body was too exhausted and she dropped off into a dreamless sleep.

She thought she was safe. She thought nobody had seen her enter the tunnel. But somebody had.

"Mouse...I thought you were going above." Father said, looking up from the book he'd been reading as Mouse passed by him on his way back to his chamber. Mouse nodded.

"Was going up. Couldn't. Wanted to go through the tunnel in the park but there was somebody there." Mouse explained, shoving a handful of his wispy, straw colored hair out of his face. Father looked grave, concerned. They'd had transients in the upper tunnels before but they'd never stayed long or caused any trouble. So far, their underground world hadn't been discovered.

"Tell me." Father instructed him and Mouse perched on the arm of a chair, his body tense with the constant nervous energy that ran through him like electricity.

"Looked like a girl. Sleeping. She was all wet. Musta got caught in the rain." Mouse told him, his hands clasping and unclasping each other. "Might get sick. Real wet, everything dripping, soaked."

Father nodded, pushing his glasses back up on his nose from where they'd slipped down.

"Alright...we'll keep an eye on her. But don't approach her, Mouse. I know how you can be sometimes, when somebody seems to need help." Father warned him, smiling with good humor. Mouse nodded, his hair falling into his eyes again.

"Won't. Be real careful." he assured him and disappeared around a corner, as quiet as...well...a mouse.

The sun peeked through the mouth of the tunnel, waking up the girl who sneezed violently several times. Although she wasn't nearly as wet as she'd been the night before, she wasn't completely dry either. She rubbed her freckled nose and groaned. Her stomach, empty for several days, growled anxiously and she frowned. She hadn't eaten in three, maybe four days unless you counted the scraps she'd managed to glean from the fast food dumpster before the manager had chased her off. She raked her fingers through the tangled and matted curls that hung down nearly to her waist, reddish curls that were once a carrot color but now dulled with dirt and grease from being unwashed for too long.

"Who..who's there?" she hissed, spinning. She'd heard something, a footstep perhaps. She knew she had to watch her step, that maybe she'd trespassed into somebody else's territory and they were preparing to beat the snot out of her for it.

"Just Mouse." Mouse said softly, coming out of the shadows into the light. Cat stared hard, trying to figure out just where he'd come from. He'd seemed to pop up out of nowhere, like a magic trick or something.

"What do you want?" she asked, cautiously getting to her feet and preparing to back out of the tunnel, to run as far and as fast as she could even if it meant leaving her few possessions behind.

"Don't want nothing. Give you food, that's all. Thought you might be hungry." Mouse walked up to her, slowly, carefully. He dropped a bundle wrapped in faded cloth at her feet and backed away several feet. Cat kept one eye on him as she knelt and untied the bundle. Inside was a thermos of soup and a small round of the dense, chewy Ezekiel bread the tunnel community made so well. She uncapped the thermos and inhaled deeply, a small tear running down her nose. She was so hungry, had been hungry for so long. Eagerly, without a word, Cat drank the warm soup and nibbled at the bread. After a few moments, she paused.

"Thanks." she whispered, her eyes shining with gratitude. Mouse came a little closer and sat down.

"S'ok. Saw you were wet, probably hungry too. Needed it. Brought it." Mouse explained simply as she continued to eat until every drop of the soup was gone, every crumb of the bread vanished.

"What's your name?" she asked, wiping her mouth with the back of one grimy hand. She shoved a handful of hair out of her eyes in order to see the stranger better.

"Mouse." he replied with a shrug.

"Mouse?" Cat asked, her face filled with curiosity.

"Uh huh. Because I scurry scurry through the tunnels below, like a little mouse." Mouse said, the best explanation he could give. Cat nodded and stuck out her hand, wiping it on her pant leg first to try and remove some of the grime.

"My name's Catherine, but everybody calls me Cat." she said. "Nice to meet you, Mouse."

Mouse shook her hand, nodding, a grin lighting up his face.

"Sorry if I invaded your space or whatever. It was raining SO hard last night, yanno? I..I didn't have anywhere else to go." Cat said, wrapping her arms around her bent legs, a shiver running down her back. She sneezed miserably and wiped at her nose with the back of one hand. Mouse reached into one of the many pockets on his tunic and pulled out an old linen handkerchief, embroidered with a small brown mouse. Cat accepted it and blew her nose, a loud honk emanating as she did so.

"You keep. Need worse than me!" Mouse giggled and Cat couldn't help but smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Almost a week had passed since Cat had run across Mouse. She'd moved on, hesitant to intrude on what she perceived to be his territory. Secretly though, Mouse kept an eye out for her. Just in case. Something about her seemed so vulnerable, so fragile.

It was a good thing he had kept an eye out for her.

Ten days after they'd first met, he saw her again. And this time the circumstances were worse than before.

It was nearly dark and Mouse was heading back from a successful day of scavenging for parts, things he needed for the multitude of gizmos he wanted to make. He carried a sack over his shoulder, bulging with bits of metal and other things he'd found that might be useful. As he passed an alleyway, he heard the sounds of a girl screaming and ominous thuds, a man shouting. Mouse pulled up short..the voice was Cat's.

"You're a fighter, huh, girlie? I like it better when they fight." the man growled, slugging Cat across the face with his fist. Her clothing was torn and she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping somebody would hear and come running to find out what was going on. But nobody came. The man lunged at her again, knocking her to the ground. He put his greasy lips on hers, forcing her mouth open as he shoved his tongue in her mouth, causing her to gag. She bit his tongue, causing him to yelp in pain and he slugged her again.

"Don't you fucking bite me." he ordered and forced her slim legs apart with one of his heavy ones. Cat struggled, but she was no match for him, small as she was and weak from hunger.

"Leave her alone!" Mouse barked and the man let go of Cat to stand up and turn around. He cocked his head to one side, taking in Mouse's odd appearance.

"You gonna make me, little man?" he taunted. Mouse dropped his bag and balled his fists.

"Yes."

"You don't have a chance." The man said confidently. Mouse's eyes darted to Cat's scared ones.

"Run, Cat. Run to the tunnels. Hurry!" he said as she scrambled to her feet. Giving her attacker a hard kick in the rear as she scraped past him, she took off. Caught by surprise, the man stumbled forward and Mouse picked up his bag and took off behind Cat, his heart beating like a drum. He caught up to her after a few minutes and took her hand.

"C'mon, Cat. Follow Mouse." he gasped as he led her into a tunnel and down a long metal ladder. It was dark, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going and she wasn't exactly in a position to argue. The man might have tried to follow them. There was a weird, oddly regular clink clink on the pipes...as if it were deliberate.

"Where are we going?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Home." Mouse replied with a shrug that she could barely see in the gloom.

"You..live down here?" she asked, curious. Mouse nodded, then remembered maybe she couldn't see as well in the dark as he could.

"Yup. Lotsa people Below..Father, Vincent, Mary, Jamie...lots." Mouse explained.

Cat breathed. Maybe it would be ok...maybe things would turn out better now that she'd found what she hope was a friend. At least..he didn't seem to want anything from her the way most people did.


	3. Chapter 3

Cat stumbled, her sides aching from where she'd been kicked and she felt terribly dizzy.

"Not much farther." Mouse reassured her but she fell to her hands and knees, the world around her swimming.

"I can't..."she whispered, tears falling from her eyes. Mouse bent to help her stand and got under her shoulder to help her walk.

"You can." he told her. "Not much farther. Promise." He said and it really wasn't. Only a few more minutes, which seemed like painful hours to Cat, passed and they were in the main tunnels, where most of the inhabitants of Below lived and worked. Jamie happened to see them as they came in.

"What the?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Father's gonna kill you, Mouse." she said, clearly surprised. Mouse shook his head.

"No time now. Gotta get her to the Hospital Chamber. Get Father, Vincent, Mary. Needs help." Mouse said to her and Jamie sprinted off in search of Father and Mary. She wasn't so sure the girl was up to the sight of Vincent right now and she knew Vincent was a little shy sometimes about meeting new people because of how he looked.

Mouse helped Cat to the Hospital Chamber and helped her get settled on one of the beds which was covered in a worn quilt. Cat grunted, her face contorted in pain. "Oh God, Mouse..it hurts. I..can't breathe." she gasped and Mouse sat beside her, holding her hand.

"Father and Vincent and Mary come soon, Cat. They'll fix you. Promise." Mouse said, hope shining in his dark eyes. Cat nodded and bit her lip, trying not to cry out from the pain. Mouse just held her hands, doing his best to comfort her until help arrived.

"Alright, what's the problem, Mouse? Jamie said.."Father started, Mary just behind him. Then his eyes widened. A stranger. Oh dear. Mouse has done it again, Father thought to himself. Best not to worry about that now. We'll straighten that out later, he thought.

"Name's Cat. Hurt, Father. Some men..kicked, punched her. Hurt her real bad." Mouse told him, moving out of the way so Father could examine her.

"Yes..I can see that. "Father said, touching her face gently. "Looks like her cheekbone is broken, but it's not shattered, that's good. And, oh yes..two broken ribs and contusions on the belly. We'll have to keep an eye on that. Now..Mouse, out please. I need to examine her further and I'm sure she would like a bit of privacy." Father said and Mouse nodded.

"Back soon, Cat. Don't worry." Mouse assured her and she smiled for a moment. Mary helped her undress, though really it wasn't terribly difficult since her clothing was torn from the man's assault.

"Do you mind telling me exactly who you are and how this happened to you?" Father asked as he gently probed the multiple bruises which went up and down her legs. Cat winced.

"My name is Cat..Catherine O'Shannaughsy. My parents were from..ooh, that hurts. Boston. Came here when I was really little. They..died..a couple years ago. I don't have any siblings or family to speak of and I tried..ow. Living in the state home. Wasn't good, I'll just tell you that plain. Ow ow ow ow. So I took off. Been on my own..three years now." She explained, letting out little gasps of pain as Father continued to try and asses her injuries.

"Well, Cat, I'd say somebody worked you over really good. Why?" Mary asked, gently bathing her dirty face with a warm rag scented with lavendar to help calm her.

"He..wanted to rape me. And I wouldn't let him." Cat explained simply and Mary looked over at Father. Father looked at Cat.

"How do you know our Mouse?" he asked, nodding as he drew a blanket over Cat.

"While back, maybe..oh..a week or more? I got caught in the rain and I ducked into a tunnel up in Central Park to get out of the storm. Mouse was there but he ran away. The next day he brought me some food and I didn't see him again after that until today." Cat said, shifting to get comfortable.

"Well, that's fine. Just fine. I'll bring you some medication for the pain but it looks like the worst of it is really that cheekbone and those broken ribs. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do except perhaps wrap the ribs so that they heal correctly which, in any case, I'd have to go get the bandages to wrap them in when I go get the medicine. We'll...discuss what comes after, later. When you've rested." Father told her and Cat nodded, pulling the comforting quilt up to her chin. She yawned, wincing at the pain in her cheek. She was so tired...so very tired. At least for the time being, she was safe and warm and cared for, which she hadn't been for three years.

It was enough. For now, it was enough.


	4. Chapter 4

A month passed and her ribs had begun to heal. The bruises faded, with time and with the help of some arnica gel which Mary gently spread over each one.

The entire time she was in the Hospital Chamber, Mouse visited her at least a dozen times a day to tell her stories, bring her food or just be there to sit with her. Cat's ragged red hair had been washed and brushed so that it shone like old copper and fell in ringlets and waves to nearly her waist.

"Father..you're not gonna..throw me out are you? When I'm better?" Cat asked one day when Father came to check on her injuries. He shook his head.

"Of course not. I've spoken to the council and they've agreed you can stay. It's not the first time Mouse has brought us a..a..well..a foundling." he said, trying to find the right word to describe the street smart, foul mouthed but gentle spirited Cat. She smiled at him.

"That's really great, Father. Like, awesome. Thanks..."she said, sincere in her thanks. Just then, Mouse popped his head in like he did a thousand times a day.

"Just heard. You can stay! You can stay!" he said, bouncing with glee. Cat nodded and tried to get up, grunting with the pain from her ribs which, though nearly healed, were still a little sore. Father laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Alright. Just take it easy young lady." he said and helped her to stand. Mouse hugged her, not too hard.

"Glad you're staying." he whispered into her ear and she nodded, smiling. "Me too." she told him.

"C'mon Cat. Show you where you'll live. With Jamie. In the dorm." he said, gently taking her hand as she slid her feet into a pair of warm moccassins lined with sheepskin.

"Alright, Mouse. Alright..."she replied softly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze as he led her down a tunnel to where the girls dorm was located.

A shadow came out of the darkness and she bit her lip, trying not to gasp.

"Don't be scared. Just Vincent." Mouse said, as if it didn't really matter. To him, it didn't. But then he'd grown up around Vincent and had ceased to be afraid of him so long ago he could scarcely remember a time when he didn't consider Vincent his best friend and brother. Vincent pushed his hood back, so she could get a good look at him.

"So you're Mouse's Cat." he said warmly, almost chuckling. "I am Vincent...I..I didn't come around much before because I didn't want to frighten you." he explained and she nodded.

"You don't frighten me. You just..surprised me is all, popping out of the shadows like that." she said, blushing. She pushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "Mouse talks about you all the time...I know there's nothing to be scared of. I just..I guess I'm just still a little cautious is all. Popping out of nowhere is how that guy..he..."she bit her lip and closed her eyes, willing the tears not to fall. Vincent brushed one tear which had escaped away with the tip of his finger.

"He is not here and he will never hurt you again." he said softly, his voice almost a whisper. Cat nodded and looked up into his sad blue-gray eyes. It had only been a few months since Catherine had been killed and baby Jacob had come to live Below with them. He still carried a great deal of pain and Cat could see that in his eyes. She wanted to kiss away that pain, but she didn't dare. For one, he was virtually a stranger to her and two, part of her heart belonged to Mouse. She didn't want to admit that to him..or really even to herself..just yet. The feelings were so new to her and she didn't understand them. She wanted to wait until she did, if that ever happened, before she laid her heart bare before him. She knew Mouse would never purposely hurt her or break her heart. Cat just..wasn't entirely sure of that though..not yet anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

Every day, Cat was becoming more and more familiar with the tunnel system, with the residents and with her new life in general. And every day, she was becoming more and more conflicted, though through her years of learning how to hide her feelings, she doubted anyone knew of her troubles.

"I mean..you love who you love, right Jamie?" she asked the girl once. Jamie was quickly becoming one of her best friends. Jamie shrugged.

"Beats me. I've never been in love before." she replied. That didn't help things at all, thought Cat to herself. And she could hardly open up to Father or Mary or any of the others she trusted. And certainly not to Vincent, since he was part of the cause of her internal conflict.

One day, she went to get water from the spring in the cliff that overlooked the waterfall where the young children liked to swim naked. Vincent was there, reclining against the wall with a book in one hand. He stared off into the distance, as if there was something only he could see. Trying to be polite and not startle him, Cat coughed.

"Oh, hello Cat. I didn't...hear you." Vincent turned towards her and she nodded.

"Yeah, I can be pretty quiet when I want to. I'm really good at fading into the walls. My goal in life is to be invisible." she replied, chuckling darkly. Vincent shook his head, closing the book in his hand.

"No one should be invisible. You have no one to hide from here and I doubt you have anything really truly to hide." he answered her and she bit her lip, closing her eyes as a pained look briefly crossed her face. Cat dropped the jug she'd been carrying and dropped down beside Vincent.

"You have NO idea." she said, pulling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She buried her face in her knees, trying to come up with the right words to say. Vincent waited, patiently. He knew that if he was just patient and didn't push, eventually she'd say what she was feeling in her heart.

"No...I don't. Tell me." His voice was scarcely louder than a whisper. When Cat looked up at him, she was crying.

"I'm in love, Vincent. Or at least I think I am. I don't even fucking..sorry..I don't even know! I've never really been in love before and it's hard..it's hard to know what to think or what to say. I love two..two people. They're totally different..very different personalities. I don't want to hurt either one of them but if I choose one, then the other WILL be hurt I'm sure of it." she said, her voice breaking as she looked into his pale blue grey eyes.

"You must follow your heart, Catherine...search your heart and let it tell you who it truly wants. The other person, whoever he is, will understand that you cannot love him the way he wants or deserves." Vincent brushed her tears away with a tender touch of his hand and Cat wanted so bad to just fall into his arms.

Vincent sighed, a sound that was full of regret and hurt and grief for his lost love. Here was a girl (a young woman, his brain told him firmly) who was practically throwing herself at his feet and he didn't dare take her in his arms and hold her close the way he wanted to. Because he'd seen the way Mouse looked at her. Mouse, for probably the first time in his life, was in love. And he wasn't about to take that away from him because he was feeling selfish.

Dammit, he thought. I always have to do what's best for the community or for Father or for baby Jacob or SOMEBODY. When do I get to do what's right for me? He shook his head, his reddish gold hair falling into his face, which he brushed away with an impatient hand. Cat relaxed into him, her tears slowing as her breathing calmed. Her eyes were closed and Vincent closed his eyes also, a pained look coming over his face. Reluctantly, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, hoping that Mouse wouldn't come looking for either of them.

"Vincent?" Cat asked, looking up at him.

"Hmm?" he replied, stroking her long hair with one hand. Oh what a mess he was going to get himself into, he just knew it.

"Look..I..I love you. A blind man could see that. But..I have to tell you...I love Mouse too. He's such a sweetheart and he..he rescued me. I owe him something for that..I owe him my life, for fu..er..heaven's sake. I..don't want to hurt him." Cat frowned, not knowing what to do. Vincent held her close and rested his head atop hers.

"We'll figure it out eventually." he answered, wishing he knew how to solve this problem.

Because he was falling in love with Cat, too. It was hard not to, after all.


	6. Chapter 6

Mouse wasn't called by that name for nothing. He could be almost invisible when he wanted to be. He'd been looking for Cat and somebody had said she'd gone to get water. It was like he knew exactly where she would go, which one of the many water sources they had Below she would go to get her water.

And he saw and heard everything from the shadows. Silently, a tear ran down his face as he watched Cat relax into Vincent's embrace. Biting his lip, he stifled a sob as he wrapped his arms around himself and sank to the ground. This wasn't fair..she was his love. How could she love him and Vincent the same, at the same time? It didn't make any sense to him at all. Closing his eyes, trying to force the pain away, he got to his feet and scurried off to find Father. Father would help him make sense of all of this...he always had helped Mouse in the past when things went wrong. Whatever was wrong, Father could make it right.

"What's the matter, Mouse? You look troubled." Father said, pushing his glasses back up on his nose as Mouse came down into his study. Mouse nodded, sinking into a chair, his arms wrapped around himself as if to hold together the broken pieces of his heart.

"Love her, Father. But.." Mouse started, shaking his head sadly. "She loves..both of us. Me. Vincent, too. Don't know how." he said, looking confused. Father nodded.

"I see. It's Cat..isn't it?" he asked and Mouse nodded, tears running down his face.

"Mouse loves her! Loves her more than thingies! More than anything!" he said, wiping away the tears with the back of his hand. Father moved closer, enveloped the young man in his warm embrace and Mouse laid his head on Father's shoulder as he began to sob so hard his entire body shook.

"Love is not always easy, Mouse. It can be very difficult. I know you're hurting now..but the pain will end eventually." Father counseled. Mouse sniffed and shook his head.

"Never stop." he muttered. Father held him like that for awhile, letting Mouse get his tears out even if it meant having his shoulder soaked. It wouldn't be the first time somebody had come crying on his shoulder over a broken heart and he was pretty sure it wouldn't be the last time either.

Some time later, Vincent came into the study. He saw Mouse, curled up asleep on a dusty leather couch, covered in a knitted afghan and gave Father a questioning look.

"Mouse has a broken heart." Father explained and Vincent nodded.

"Because of me. Sometimes I forget how quiet he can be, when he really wants to be. He..must have seen us, by the waterfall." Vincent said, raking his hands through his long, reddish gold mane. "I held her..nothing more. It felt..wonderful and at the same time so very painful, Father. I want to love her..and part of me does..but I know that Mouse loves her more than he's ever loved anyone and I can't bear to take that away from him. I think..if I go away for a time..she will see that he is who her heart truly desires, what she truly needs and the feelings she has for me will fade away naturally. I..I can't hurt Mouse..he deserves this more than you can imagine." Vincent explained, pacing back and forth as he spoke, feeling his heart break into a thousand pieces. It seemed as though he were destined to give up everything, to sacrifice everything, for the greater good. It wasn't fair..but sometimes that's just how life was.

Father nodded. "I think you're right, Vincent. Maybe if you go away for awhile, her heart will change for the better and she will stop caring for you in that way. We can only hope. Because you're right...she and Mouse are perfect together. It's like they are two halves of the same coin...but Cat doesn't see that yet. She's awed by you, I think, and she's confused because she's never had anyone care for her the way we do." Father agreed, nodding. Vincent looked over at him, his face full of pain. But he was determined to do what was right, even if it caused him great pain.

"I'll go pack some things right now...I don't know where I"ll go, but..I'll be back soon. A month maybe." he said with a nod.

He left the chamber and started towards his own, a determined look on his face. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite paying attention to where he was going and he bumped into Cat who was looking for Father.

"Vincent..I.."she said, stepping back and looking up at him. "Sorry. I..guess I didn't see you there. I..was going to talk to Father." she said, twirling a ringlet around her finger.

"I know. I..I'm going away for awhile, Cat." he told her simply and she blinked, confused.

"Away?" she asked, tilting her head. "But..why?"

"Because you love Mouse and I cannot come between you, not ever. I can't do that to him..it's unfair. Mouse has never..never had a love. And he loves you, dearly. More than you can imagine, little Cat." Vincent stroked the side of her face and she took his hand and planted a kiss in the palm.

"I love you both, Vincent. It's probably best you go now..before I choose you over Mouse. Because if you stay, I will." she said, her voice full of passion and pain as she stretched on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. Vincent leaned back against the wall of the chamber, his face full of pain as a tear ran down his cheek. He wanted her..but he knew she was not destined to be his.

"Oh Cat..."he whispered painfully as he turned to walk away. Cat dropped her head.

"Go..now. Before I do something REALLY stupid." she whispered in reply. Vincent nodded, his cloak swirling around him as he turned to leave. He could hear her crying quietly in the dark and he hardened his heart against the sound of it, lest he go back and hold her and kiss away her pain.


	7. Chapter 7

It was hard, with Vincent being gone. Father realized exactly how much the community relied on him and how much they missed his strong presence.

"Cat..what's wrong?" Mouse asked one day, a few days after Vincent had left. Cat looked up, her eyes red from crying. Mouse sat near her, but not wanting to be too near. She shook her head. "I miss Vincent, that's all." Cat replied, scooting closer to Mouse and leaning her head on his shoulder. Cautiously, he put his arm around her, drawing her in even more.  
"Mouse misses Vincent too." he replied softly.

"Mouse..I..we need to talk, I guess. I want you to know how much I appreciate you saving my ass, ya know? It means a lot to me..and you mean a lot to me too. I..I've been all confused lately I guess. My heart is..being pulled in two directions. You..Vincent..I mean..I don't know which way to go, ya know?" Cat said, hoping he would understand. She loved them both more than anything and her heart was breaking ever since Vincent left.

"Mouse knows." Mouse said, rubbing her arm with his hand. "Mouse..wants..you to be happy, Cat." He struggled to find the right words. "I love you, too."

"I know." she said and she sat up, turning to face him. She brushed some of his corn-colored hair out of the way..it was always falling in his face it seemed. Mouse closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.

"Love you..love you lots . More than Arthur..more than thingies." he whispered, his eyes searching hers, hoping that she'd understand.

"I know." she replied, kissing him softly. Mouse blinked. He'd never been kissed before..well..not on the lips anyway. On the cheek or on the top of his head. But never like this, like in the storybooks. And for the first few moments, he was too shocked to know what to do. Instinct seemed to kick in though and he relaxed into it, smiling to himself as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her.

"Wow!" was all he could say after a few minutes when they came up for air.

Cat smiled softly. "Wow is right, Mouse." she said, threading one of her hands into his and giving it a squeeze. He squeezed back..it seemed like things were looking up. Maybe this was her way of telling him that she chose him over Vincent and for a moment, he was sad for his friend. It seemed like Vincent was always giving up things that were important to him for the good of everybody else, which kind of sucked now that Mouse thought about it. He'd think about it later though..right now he just wanted to make this moment last forever. He pulled Cat into his chest and she snuggled against him, his arms wrapped around her.

"Love you, Cat. Love you more than thingies." he repeated and she nodded. It wasn't exactly poetry..but it would do. For now anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

As the months passed, Cat and Mouse became even closer. They were rarely seen apart, even when they were assigned different tasks which helped with the upkeep and maintenance of the Tunnels. Like all lovers, they found their own private out of the way spaces where they could be alone, without anybody to bother them.

Before they knew it, a year had passed.

"Father..I have a question." Mouse said one day, fidgeting with one of his vest pockets. Father removed his glasses and tucked them away in his shirt pocket.

"And what would that be, Mouse?" he asked, giving the tow-headed young man his full attention.

"I..made this. For Cat." he said, withdrawing the object he'd been fiddling with. It was an ice-blue velvet box with a tight little hinge on one side. Mouse opened it to reveal a finely made ring which was made of gold and had a cat and mouse etched on the outside. On the inside, there were the letters C and M intertwined. Father nodded slowly.

"So you want to take your relationship to the next level, Mouse. I take it this is an engagement ring?" Father asked seriously. Mouse bit his lip and shut the box.

"Yeah. Guess so." he replied, staring at his feet.

"You know marriage is a serious endeavor, not something to be taken lightly, Mouse. Are you sure you're ready for it? Is she? You need to be sure of these things, before you ask her. Have you even discussed getting married with her at all?" Father wanted to make sure that Mouse knew this wasn't a game he was playing. He was pretty sure Mouse knew, but with Mouse you could never really be sure sometimes. It was like he lived in a world all his own at times.

Mouse nodded slowly. "I know. I know it's serious. Never talked to Cat about it. But..I love her so much, Father. Wanna marry her." Mouse said, his brown eyes going liquid with unshed tears. He was anxious and afraid that she would reject him. Father nodded, pulling Mouse into a warm embrace as he kissed him on top of the head.

"I know you know it's serious Mouse. There is no need to be afraid..I'm quite sure she'll accept your proposal. It's been a long time since we've had a wedding down here." Father replied. Just then, Vincent entered and Father told him everything Mouse had shared with him.

"She cannot reject you, Mouse. I don't believe I've ever seen two people as much in love as you and Cat." Vincent said, making it a threeway group hug.

Mouse dried his wet eyes with the back of his hand. "Gonna ask her. Right now." he said softly, smiling shyly. Vincent nodded. "Good luck."

Cat was sitting in Mouse's chamber, reading to herself, when Mouse bounded in. Arthur, who'd been curled up on Cat's lap, skittered off when she dumped him unceremoniously onto the floor as she stood up.

"What's up, Mouse?" she asked, seeing his face brightly lit up as if there were a thousand watt bulb inside. All of a sudden, he looked serious and she wondered if she'd said something wrong. But then he dropped to one knee before her, swiftly pulling the ice-blue box from behind his back where he'd kept it hidden. He held it open before her and looked up at her, not saying a word.

Cat stared at the ring for a long minute and then looked back at Mouse. "I..I don't understand." she said softly, one hand going to her mouth as her heart started beating a thousand miles an hour.

"Marry me?" was all he said. She heard nothing more, because at that moment, she collapsed in a faint.


	9. Chapter 9

Cat's eyes fluttered open to see Mouse above her, a worried look on her face. She turned her head and saw Father, Vincent and Mary behind Mouse.

"I..I must've..I.."she stuttered. Mouse took her hand in both of his own. Looking around, she realized she was in the hospital chamber.

"Fainted." he said softly and Father nodded. "Not..well..not totally uncommon in these types of ah..situations." He chewed on one of the stems of his eyeglasses. Vincent nodded and put a hand on each of Father and Mary's shoulders.

"Perhaps we should leave them to talk in private." he suggested and as a group, they turned and left.

Cat blushed and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Mouse. I didn't mean to faint. I..it was just so unexpected, yanno? I know it seems like we've been together for a long time and I mean, I TOTALLY get that we have. I mean, for you anyway. But..sweetie, I just don't..I don't know if I'm ready to take such a serious step. I mean, why mess up a good thing?" she said, her heart beating a thousand miles an hour. Mouse's face, which had looked so hopeful, just crumpled. Without a word, he took the blue box and set it on the small table next to her bed, turned and walked out of the room. Cat clutched the blanket to her chest and bit her lip. She felt like the lowest slime on the planet.

"Well how did it go, Mouse? Did she say yes?" asked Jamie excitedly as she nearly bumped into him in the tunnel nearest his chamber where she'd been waiting. Mouse looked up at her, tears streaming down his face. Jamie frowned and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, buddy." Mouse just sobbed harder, soaking her shoulder with his tears.

"Want..want to marry her, Jamie. Love her..so much. Hurts." he gasped out in ragged breaths. Jamie rubbed his back. "I know, Mouse. I know." she said soothingly as she led him into his chamber. She helped him remove his coat and vest and shoes. Mouse just cried and shook through the whole ordeal as she tucked him into bed, like a loving older sister even though he was the elder.

"I'll run to the kitchen and get you some chamomile tea, Mouse. It'll help you feel better." she assured him and Mouse just rolled over with his back to her.

Jamie ran into Vincent and told him what had happened. Vincent shook his head, assured her everything would be fine and walked to the hospital chamber. Cat's eyes went wide when she saw him come in.

"I'm sorry, Vincent. I just..couldn't say yes. I don't know if I'm ready and even if I did feel..ready, there's more..there's things I haven't told Mouse. Not yet. I know he would never send me away..none of you would. But these things..I've never told anybody." she said, ducking her head with embarrassment. She pulled nervously at a long curl as Vincent slowly strode over to sit in a chair near her bed.

"We all have our secrets, Catherine." he said. He was really the only one who ever called her by her full name. Most everyone else just called her Cat or Mouse's Cat.

"Yeah, well. This one's pretty bad." she said softly, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Is it so terrible you can't even tell the one whom you love, or those you are closest to? You can't tell me..or Father?" he asked, taking one of her hands in his own. Cat shook her head.

"Then it must be truly terrible indeed." Vincent's voice was barely above a whisper as he stroked her hand comfortingly.

Taking a deep breath, Cat looked up at Vincent and tried to find the words for what she had to say.

"Vincent..the reason I can't..I'm not ready to get engaged to Mouse is because..I haven't..haven't told him that I..I'm not.."she stuttered, her courage failing. He gave her a look that said, "You can do this." without saying a word. She took another deep breath.

"I'm not..I was always told that when a woman gets married she needs to be uh..untouched. Yanno?" Cat tilted her head, praying he understood. Vincent nodded.

"Go on."

"And I'm not. I..when I lived..on the streets, sometimes I did things. Shameful, terrible, AWFUL things. Just to survive. I..sold myself sometimes, just so I'd have money to eat. Or money to stay in a flophouse instead of out on the sidewalk." Cat's cheeks burned with her embarrassment as she dropped her eyes. Vincent put one hand on her chin and forced it up, so he could look into her eyes.

"You did what you had to. There is no shame in that." he told her. Cat jerked her head away.

"That's not all. I..went to a back alley midwife to have an abortion." she said softly, tears sliding down her face. "She botched it. I ended up in the county hospital ER because I got real sick. They told me..I can't have kids." Cat's shoulders began to heave as she leaned into Vincent's powerful forearms and began to sob almost hysterically.

"That is not your fault, Catherine. You didn't know. And you were clearly not prepared to raise a child and scared so you found someone who you thought would help. But it's not your fault she didn't..it's not your fault this happened." he told her, a note of firmness in his voice as he kissed the top of her head. But she couldn't stop crying.

"Mouse..will..never..forgive..meeeee!" she wailed and Vincent stroked her hair.

"Mouse will understand." he reassured her. She shook her head, her eyes almost swollen with all the crying she'd done. She was sure he wouldn't and her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces.


	10. Chapter 10

Two weeks went by. Mouse, angry and hurt and confused, refused to talk to Cat at all. He just hid in his chambers, messing with his gadgets and only rarely coming out to take meals with the rest of the community. Cat, equally scared and confused, rarely left her bed. Vincent and Jamie would bring her food, only to have her refuse it or only take a few bites. Most of the time she just slept or cried inconsolably because she thought Mouse hated her. She wore his ring on a chain around her neck and clutched it while she slept like a security blanket.

"This is becoming absolutely intolerable." Jamie muttered to Vincent one day after they'd tried and failed, again, to get Cat to eat something.

"The only people who can fix this are Cat and Mouse themselves and if neither of them will talk to the other..you're right, Jamie. This is intolerable and it must stop." Vincent replied, raking a hand through his thick mane. "I will talk to Mouse..make him see that he MUST talk to Cat. That they MUST work this out."

He knocked on the wall, just outside of Mouse's chamber, to let him know he was there. Mouse looked up from the old pachinko board he'd found and restored.

"What do YOU want?" he snapped.

"Just to talk to you, Mouse." Vincent entered slowly and sat down on a stool.

"Don't wanna talk." Mouse replied, turning away from the pachinko machine and turning his back on Vincent. His clothes were rumpled more than usual and he was thin and disheveled looking. He hadn't shaved in several days and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Well then you can listen, Mouse. Because this situation between you and Catherine is..it's not good for anybody, least of all you. We all care about you..and about Cat. We don't want either one of you to feel the kind of hurt you're feeling right now, Mouse. But you refuse to talk to us or to Cat about this. So I'm going to talk to you. You don't have to talk to me but I do ask that you listen, my old friend." Vincent said, a touch of firmness in his voice that Mouse knew meant business. Mouse turned back to Vincent.

"Broke my heart, Vincent. Didn't say yes!" he said, pain written all over his face.

"But she didn't say no, either, Mouse." Vincent reminded him. Mouse stared at the ground, twisting his toe against the concrete.

"Well..no."

"You need to talk to her, Mouse. Ask her WHY she didn't say yes. She's in pain..just as you are." he reminded the young man and Mouse nodded.

"Well..ok good! OK FINE! Go see Cat. Talk to her. Won't do any good. She won't want to talk to me. Hates me." Mouse said with a frown.

Vincent shook his head and put one hand on Mouse's shoulder.

"She does NOT hate you, Mouse. Catherine LOVES you..very much. There are reasons why she didn't say yes but you need to know, she wears the ring you gave her on a chain around her neck. Jamie says when she sleeps, she keeps tight hold of it in her hand, like it's the most important thing on earth." Vincent told him. Mouse's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Really, Mouse." Vincent assured him.

Mouse nodded. "Guess I'll go see her then."


	11. Chapter 11

Mouse saw Cat lying on her bed, her back towards him. He tiptoed in and touched her shoulder, causing her to jerk as if in pain.

"W..who's there?" she asked.

"Just Mouse." he replied, lying down next to her and wrapping his arms around her. She stiffened for a moment and then relaxed into his body.

"Missed you, Cat." he told her and she nodded.

"I know. I've missed you, too, Mouse. I want you to know that..I didn't..couldn't say yes..for so many reasons. You just didn't give me a chance to explain." she told him and he squeezed her tightly.

"I know. Sorry. So explain...please?" he asked softly and Cat took a breath, trying to find the right words to say to him.

"There's things that..even now, after all this time..I haven't told you, Mouse. Things that are horribly embarrassing for me and I'm scared that if I talk to you about them, you're going to..not like me anymore." she said, trembling. Mouse held her tighter and the trembling stopped.

"I'll always like you. Promise." he replied, kissing her neck gently. Cat rolled over to face him and buried her face in his chest.

"When I lived on the streets, sometimes I did really horrible things to survive." she admitted. Mouse didn't seem shocked or surprised.

"Like stealing? Psh. Even I do that sometimes." he said, gently pushing some of her hair out of her face.

"Well, that. And..other things. Like.."and she gulped, her heart beating a thousand miles an hour. "Like prostituting myself just so I could have a few bucks to sleep someplace warm and safe. Or have food to eat."

"Prostitu..oh. You mean like Lena, before she came here." Mouse said. Cat blinked..oh. Right, she thought. The blonde girl with the daughter named Catherine. She hadn't known that about gentle Lena until now.

"Right. Like Lena. D..do you hate me?" she asked, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Mouse shook his head.

"No. Couldn't hate you, Cat. You're my love." he said gently and kissed her. After a few moments, Cat broke the kiss.

"There's more, Mouse. I wasn't careful enough when I was doing those things and I..got pregnant." She added. This causes Mouse's eyes to go wide.

"Pregnant?" he said, shocked.

"Yeah. Pregnant. But I..had an abortion and the person that did it really screwed things up so I can't have kids at all now." she said, ducking her head again. Mouse pondered this for a few long minutes.

"Never have kids? Ever?" he asked. "Maybe Father can fix it..or send you to a Helper. Up Top. They can fix it." Mouse suggested and Cat shook her head.

"Nope. Pretty sure this can't ever be fixed, Mouse. That's why I couldn't say yes. Because I hadn't told you everything and I was scared that once I did, you'd tell me to go away. That you didn't love me anymore and I wasn't sure I could handle that." she said softly, a tear sliding down her nose. Mouse wiped it away with one finger.

"Could never say "Go away forever!" to you Cat. Love you too much." Mouse told her and she nodded. Mouse indicated that she needed to sit up, so she did and he sat up with her. He took the chain from around her neck and remove the ring from the chain.

"This means forever, Cat. Forever and ever and ever." he said, slipping the ring onto her finger. Then he kissed the top of the ring, where it sat on her slim finger.

"You're amazing, Mouse." she said softly, taking both his hands in hers.

He shrugged.

"Aaaaw...I know."


End file.
